Shades Of Life
by UchihaTragedy
Summary: Final sequel to Distance. Because life is not black and white, it's full of shades in between. When Itachi and everyone else thought it was over; there's always something new that rises over the horizon. Hate, love, sorrow; all are shades of life.
1. Chapter 1: Something New

**Hello everyone! It's been a veeery long time, huh? Been very busy these days and I haven't been able of writing much of my stories but I decided to upload this new story, the third and final part of my Crossing and Distance stories. This doesn't mean I'm free, I'm going to be just as busy or maybe even more now but I think I can keep on writing some of my stories from time to time. I won't be uploading fast, actually, the uploads will be pretty slow to come but they will come, I won't place on Hiatus any story of mine. To those who read this story, please be patient. Also, if this is the first story you read of my series, please read the first two that are on my profile (Crossing and Distance) so you won't be lost when you read this one. This first chapter has pretty much of a summary of how the rest of the story's style will be like(action, drama, romance, adventure, suspense) and things like that :P but since now I can say that this story will be pretty long. Hope you all enjoy this first chapter!**

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><p><strong>Shades of Life<strong>

"_Colors and shades, lights and shadows,_

_Blinding and obscuring, clear and blurry,_

_Never the same, always changing,_

_So fragile and weak in the strong willing,_

_Happiness and sorrow, a joyous cry of agony,_

_Living to die in eternity, _

_Graceful disasters and beautiful torments,_

_Broken hearts and mending souls,_

_Justice, peace and war,_

_A mirage of reality_

_Mindless insanity,_

_Smiles that cry and silent voices,_

_Loving, lying, waiting, hating,_

_The never ending dream,_

_Trapped inside, heartless eyes,_

_Hope never ending,_

_Shades of life."_

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><p>Chapter One: Something New<p>

"_Change is something hard to accept,_

_Something that comes in the right or wrong time,_

_And maybe it's unexpected but still,_

_It's part of evolving._

_It's part of being alive."_

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**_It's a place of trust, would you meet me there? There's no time to spare, come and show me you care. Here we can make anything become real._**

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"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Fire illuminated the darkness of the night as it emerged from the lips behind the mask of a man. The fire was followed by a shower of senbon from another side and a blue and white flash of light came from the other, all attacks hitting their target simultaneously. Smoke emerged after the attacks subsided and silence reigned over once again on the scene. The smoke cleared out and an unrecognizable body laid in the center of where the attacks had hit, burnt to a crisp and covered by needles. The three responsible for the scene looked at each other through small openings in their masks, nodding at each other. One of them jumped down from the branch of the tree he was standing on and opened a scroll, laying it next to the body. Performing certain hand seals, the body disappeared in a poof of smoke and a black kanji appeared written on the scroll. The one who had performed the seals rolled the scroll once again and tied a fine strap around it to prevent it from opening.

A man with a Hawk mask walked back to the others also wearing masks, one had a Dog and the other had a Rat mask on. The Hawk nodded to them both and the three disappeared from the scene.

Meanwhile, dozens of miles away the next day, three young adults stared at each other in the training fields of Konohagakure. The birds could be heard chiming melodies and the leafs of the trees moved with the wind and everything seemed pretty quiet until a rather loud voice was heard.

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><p>"Shannaroo!" And then the earth trembled around them as the short pink haired female crashed a kick down onto the ground, forming a pretty big crater.<p>

"Shadow clone jutsu!" Five more blonde haired Narutos appeared and charged against a brunette standing opposite of both Sakura and him. The cherry blossom ran towards Ari as well, her fists charged with chakra and the purple eyed woman narrowed her eyes at the assault of them both. Taking a breath, she jumped up high into the air and made some hand seals.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Jutsu!" She said and balls of fire emerged, hitting the ground below though the two shinobi fighting against her evaded the jutsu. Looking behind her, she locked eyes with one of Naruto's clones who was going to hold her down with his arms. Raising her hand up in a hand sign, she disappeared, making the clone hold on to nothing and in the next second, it disappeared in a poof of smoke when Ari stabbed a kunai at his back.

"Hey, Ari-chan! What if that was really me?" The real Naruto on the ground screamed back at the brunette and she smirked. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Idiot, you just gave up your cover! Now she knows who's the real you." Naruto raised an eyebrow and in the next moment, he was struck to the ground by a fist from the purple eyed woman. The pink haired kunoichi took this chance and threw her own chakra charged fist at Ari but she used her own hand with chakra to grab Sakura's gloved fist. The cherry blossom's eyes widened and then she had to evade a kick being sent to her side. The pink haired threw another punch at the brunette but she evaded it threw a punch back and so the two girls engaged in pure taijutsu fighting.

Naruto watched and pouted a little, wanting to do something so started to form his Rasengan as the two girls fought each other. Ari noticed and stopped fighting with Sakura by doing a back flip to jump away from her. She pointed at the blonde shinobi and spoke.

"You're really taking this seriously, huh?" She asked smirking and Naruto grinned back.

"Of course! That's what you told us, to take it seriously!" The knuckleheaded ninja sprinted towards her with his Rasengan ready, knowing that she would somehow evade it but was surprised when she didn't and took the attack directly. He tried to stop himself but it was too late and Ari had taken the attack. His eyes widened.

"Ari-chan! Why didn't you evade it?" He shouted but then noticed that the female's body didn't fell to the ground, but rather floated and started to fade into purple butterflies. His eyes narrowed.

"I know that trick! It's like big teme's but with butterflies instead of those ugly crows!" He shouted and braced himself for the shower of shurikens but it never came, instead, the butterflies flew to his back and started to take the form of Ari once again. The female giggled a little before speaking.

"Of course it's the same, he is the one who taught me, after all. But I decided to change the crows and give it a personal touch of my own." She smirked and disappeared again into butterflies that surrounded Naruto completely, not letting him move. Taking a deep breath, the frog sage accumulated chakra and then released it out of his body in one powerful burst, saying "Kai".

When he opened his eyes, Sakura was panting heavily and healing a wound she had in her left side. He looked at the brunette female that had placed him under a genjutsu. She looked like new, with just a few scratches while the cherry blossom was all wounded up.

"Sakura-chan, what happened?" He asked and the pink haired just glared at him while Ari giggled.

"Welcome back, Naruto." She smirked and the blonde narrowed his eyes at her.

"That's no fair! You know I'm not good at that genjutsu stuff!" He shouted back at the purple eyed.

"Then just you and me, Naruto?" She asked, walking circles around him and staring. The Uzumaki grinned and took a fighting stance just as the half Uchiha woman smirked and took a stance of her own. Seconds later, they both disappeared and reappeared in the center the training field, exchanging fists and kicks in a taijutsu fight. They were both in an almost equal level until Ari took the upper hand when she activated her Sharingan, watching all the attacks Naruto was going to do and evading them to counter back with slightly chakra charged fists that hit their spot.

The blond groaned lightly and jumped back to stop the taijutsu fight and brought his hands together in a hand seal. Ari did also and they both shouted: "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" at the same time, one clone of each other appearing next to them. The female was the first one to move as her clone sprinted to the left and she sprinted to the right and Naruto took out a kunai along with his clone, surrounding it with his wind chakra. The purple eyed noticed with her Sharingan and her hands started glowing blue as she opened them. Her clone then disappeared and caught Naruto's clone by surprise as it appeared right behind the real blonde shinobi, making him stop looking at the real Ari who used her blinding speed to paralyze Naruto using her Mystical Palm Technique.

Cerulean blue eyes widened when the brunette jumped back and raised her hand in a seal, whispering "Shadow Clone Smash" and her clone exploded right behind him, making the blonde's clone disappear in a poof of smoke and sending Naruto flying a good feet away. Ari walked towards him as he coughed from the dirt on his face and held on to his legs which were paralyzed due to the purple eye's technique.

"I think that's enough for today." She said and smiled, deactivating her bloodline limit and crouching down with her hands glowing green as she placed them over the Uzumaki's thigh to heal him from the effects of the Mystical Palm.

"Man, how do you do it, Ari-chan? Every time we fight against you, you have something new! You always get us by surprise." He said and Ari smirked.

"Because I try not to be predictable. Itachi told me that in battle, one of the worst mistakes you can do is perform that same technique several times in the same manner because that way, your enemy will learn how to evade it and even counter it which may result in defeat." She smiled, concentrated on healing the shinobi.

"You even sounded like him there." Naruto said and the brunette giggled.

"Cause that's exactly how he said it. There, all done now. Something else hurting?" She asked him and he shook his head.

"Nah, I'm fine now. Thanks Ari-chan and you really are a strong one. Big teme must be an amazing teacher. You think he can give me some tips later on?" He stood up and so did the purple eyed.

"Well, you'll have to ask him. He's on a mission right now but he should be arriving soon, I think." She smiled and the Uzumaki grinned, standing next to Sakura.

"Boy, I'm hungry. Anyone up for some ramen?" He asked while Sakura rolled her eyes and Ari giggled.

"I want to pay." The brunette said and Naruto's grin widened even more.

"Really? You're the best, Ari-chan!" The three of them walked to Ichiraku's and sat there, ordered their raiment and waited until it was served. They talked about Ari's progress and the two official shinobi told the still not official kunoichi about missions and other things involving shinobi business. The ramen bowls were served and they ate their meal gladly. The sun was setting on the village and the sky looked orange when they finished eating and headed to their respective houses.

Passing away from her house in the Uchiha compound, Ari stopped in front of the tomb of Sasuke to visit him. She smiled down and placed her hand over her chest where her heart was.

"I'm getting stronger, Sasuke." She said and sat down next to the tomb with the tablet that read his name.

"I beat Naruto and Sakura today though of course, it was practice and I think it was just cause they were going easy on me. I know they are very strong, one of the best. Team seven is one of the most powerful teams or at least… when you were still here with us." She lowered her voice in the end but then looked up again and smiled.

"I've missed you a lot, you know? But I promise I will keep getting very strong and when I take the exams, I will be amazing!" She laughed and the wind picked up making her hair frame her face. Call her crazy, but she felt that every time she was 'talking' with Sasuke, he answered her through the wind because whenever the wind blew after she said something, she could feel him. Looking behind her where the sun had just settled, she stood up and smiled down again at Sasuke's tomb.

"I have to go now; I'll be back tomorrow, alright?" She turned around and walked towards the house. Getting her keys out, she unlocked the front door and entered, leaving her sandals by the entrance before closing and locking the door behind her. Sighing, she took off her kunai pouch while walking up the stairs to her room to take a nice long bath. The house suddenly looked empty and she had almost forgotten that Itachi was on a mission and she missed him instantly.

One year had passed since Madara was defeated and soon, it was going to be Itachi's birthday. It was May 21st and he was born on June 9th so soon, he was going to turn twenty three being almost four years older than her. If one did the math right, she was now nineteen years old. Her birthday had been on December 1st and she didn't wanted to tell anyone but, Itachi knew and he remembered but he also understood that she didn't wanted to celebrate it so he had simply made her favorite food when she got home from work at the hospital, had bought a small chocolate cake and had whispered a small "Happy Birthday" as she closed her door to sleep for the night. She smiled at the memory.

Itachi has told her everything about her mother and also who her father had been. He had shown her everything in a genjutsu and she had seen her mother and father and she remembered her eyes watered instantly when she saw how beautiful her mother was and how handsome her father had been and laughed at how cute Itachi had looked when he was a three year old.

Smiling to the memories, she drifted herself to sleep.

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><p><em>Next Day<em>

"Hinata-sama." The navy blue haired Hyuga heiress looked back to where she heard her name was being called and smiled softly when she saw who it was.

"Kimiko-san." She greeted the dark purple haired and light green eyed woman.

"Hinata-sama, how are you?" She asked and the pearl eyed female nodded.

"I'm good and you? Where are you headed?" She asked back and Kimiko smiled.

"I'm well and I was going to visit Neo and the boys." The green eyed said and Hinata nodded.

"Me too so l-let's go together." Both women walked side by side and talked about little things until they reached the house where Neo, Jack and Natas were training.

Both males were training to become full-fledged official shinobi. They were not only training physically but also studying everything that had to do with being ninja. They both wanted to become ninjas because that way, they could openly start a relationship with their sweethearts.

Kimiko on the other hand, she didn't come from an important family like the Hyuga and the Yamanaka so it was easier to start a relationship with her crush Neo. Just recently they had confessed their feelings for each other and decided to start going out but they were taking things very nice and slow.

When the females arrived, they saw that the three males were sparring so they didn't interrupted them in their fight, just simply sat down and watch. After they finished, the brothers along with Neo went to welcome Hinata and Kimiko. They all asked Natas about Ino but he said that she had a shift at the hospital and couldn't come visit today so they all prepared lunch and ate together.

"Uchiha, a chunin team has arrived; there is one with fractures and the others have minor injuries." One of the nurses said to Ari who was just exiting a room.

"Which room?" She asked.

"Room 4." The brunette nodded and walked towards the room where the chunin had been placed. She took the small board with their papers on the wall next to the door and read them, looking up to them after she finished.

"Alright, Team Kouichi formed by Mei, Akio and Kouichi. Can you explain what happened?" The purple eyed asked politely and the female with dark blond hair started to talk.

"We were returning from the mission and then we got ambushed by missing-nin. We were all pretty tired and they were pretty strong so it was a difficult battle. I had little chakra and they were going to attack me and I couldn't evade it but Kouichi got in the way and he got severely wounded… Akio was the one to finally fight them off and we both carried Kouichi as fast as we could back here." She explained and Ari nodded.

"Very well, I will attend Kouichi first and then I will go with you two, alright?" She asked and they both nodded and she walked towards the young teen who was unconscious by now. With her hands glowing green, she placed them over the chest of the chunin and flowed her chakra into his body, inspecting the damage. After she found out what needed to be cure immediately, she started to work on his fractures and left the minor injuries for the other medic that came after her. Several minutes later, she was done with all three of them and left the room after the other secondary medic arrived. She was immediately called to attend another shinobi who had also been seriously injured in a mission. After that, it was lunch break and she and Sakura both went to eat something. Later on, she returned to her noon shift and attended at least thirty more patients before her shift for the day was over. As she registered her check out of her shift, she said goodbye to her nurses and started to leave the hospital but the small smile she had widened even more when she sensed a familiar chakra signature in the lobby area of the building.

Standing close to the sliding doors of the hospital, was Itachi Uchiha, smirking at her way when he saw that she had noticed him. The purple eyed ran towards him with a wide smile on her face and lunged herself into his arms. The Uchiha heir chuckled lightly as he embraced her and looked down at her shining purple orbs.

"I've missed you! I'm so happy you're back." She said and he smiled.

"I'm glad I came back as well." He whispered to her ear and she let go of his waist to hold on to his arm and pull him outside of the hospital.

"So how did the mission went? You were gone for two weeks!" She pinched his arm lightly and he chuckled again.

"It was successful. The target was pretty good at fleeing away from us but in the end, we captured and disposed of him." He said with that velvety smooth voice of his.

"I'd expect nothing less from the great Itachi Uchiha." She grinned and raised her head up as she said his name and he smirked, raising an eyebrow.

"And how has your training been going?" He asked her and she let go of his arm to walk close beside him.

"Very well. I've had sparring matches with Hinata, Jack and Natas and yesterday I had a spar with Sakura and Naruto and I won." She winked and smirked. Itachi nodded once and smiled.

"Then we shall train to see how that has helped in your progress. Do you have work tomorrow?" He asked and Ari nodded.

"Night shift but we can spar in the morning." She said and the Uchiha nodded. The two kept on walking down the streets of Konoha until they reached the Uchiha compound and entered their house or better said, Itachi's house in which she was also living.

"I want to prepare something for you." She said and the ebony haired raised an eyebrow.

"I already made dinner while you were working." He smirked and Ari pouted.

"So you got back early. Alright, then I want to eat." She said and the male served the dinner he had already prepared and they both ate and talked about the things that had happened while he was away in the mission.

Itachi had missed her so much. He had spent a whole year living with her and even though he knows that Ari doesn't feel anything more than friendship for him, or even some sort of brotherly love, he cares for her much more than he lets out. The purple eyed knows that the Uchiha heir feels something that resembles maybe attraction towards her but nothing else and she trusts that he won't do anything to show it to her and since it has passed a whole year after that small confession he had made of his feelings, maybe she believes that he no longer feels the same way.

Of course, in reality, it was nothing like that.

He cares for her even more than he did before and he has had to control himself even more around her. Sometimes, when she had walked so close beside him on the streets of Konoha, he has been so tempted to place his arm around her waist, place his hand over her hip and show to everyone that she is his. Other times, she has fallen asleep on his lap at night and how he wanted to carry her to his bed and kiss her as she slept. How many times he has seen her with not so covering clothes and lusted to take them off and make love to her over and over again.

But that couldn't happen because she wouldn't accept him.

After they finished eating, they both sat at the living room. Itachi grabbed a book to read while Ari decided to draw and watch television. The night came by fast and they went to their rooms to sleep and wake up early for the next day.

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><p>When the sun was rising, the Uchiha heir woke up and started with his morning routine which was taking a bath, washing his mouth, changing clothes and preparing breakfast. He didn't need to wake up the sleeping brunette upstairs because the smell of his food made that for him. She took a quick bath, washed her teeth and sleepily walked down stairs, rubbing her eyes. The food was already done they both sat down to eat scrambled eggs with bacon along with a sandwich of ham and cheese. After they were finished, they sat on the living for a while to digest the food and then walked outside to start their morning spar.<p>

Ari was the one to attack first, disappearing and reappearing behind the heir who easily turned around and grabbed the kick directed to his side. He held on to her leg and pulled her in but she threw her torso down to the floor with her hands on the ground, maneuvering to do a small turn and bring Itachi along with her leg up to the air, making him let go of her. Jumping into the air with the impulse of her hands and arms, she flipped around in mid air and landed on her feet back at the ground. The male raised an eyebrow at her moves and she smirked in return.

"I'm using more my flexibility." She said and he smirked, performing a hand sign and creating a shadow clone of himself. Ari crouched down a little in a fighting stance and waited for Itachi's next move. Both him and his shadow clone took out a kunai and lunged at her which was strange because Itachi almost never goes for a straight attack but none the less, she still kept on watching and waited for the right moment to dodge their assaults at her. Her eyes narrowed and she grabbed his hand, tossing his whole body the other way while raising her leg to kick the real one away from her. But then, just as she knew, the clone she was holding by the hand exploded but she was ready and had done a replacement technique so when the clone exploded, she had disappeared into purple butterflies.

Looking up, he saw Ari going down on him with a chakra charged fist and he dashed to the side just in time to evade a punch that created a small crater once it hit the ground. Performing very fast hand signs, fire emerged from the Uchiha heir and the brunette's eyes widened before jumping up to evade it and performing her own Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu. Itachi dashed and evaded the fire projectiles of the jutsu, disappearing and reappearing behind her but this time, she couldn't get out of the way when he grabbed her from behind, placing his arms underneath her shoulders in a grapple, taking her by surprise. She gasped when he snaked his hands up to her arms and threw her down to the ground, all in mid air. The purple eyed crashed down but stood up swiftly and raised her hand to where the ebony haired male was standing. Now his eyes were the ones to widen at her.

He felt the pull inside him of her chakra controlling his and he tried hard to stay put but it was useless when he was thrown up to the air and then tossed down violently to the ground. Ari ran to where he landed, ready to strike him down with a kick but was stopped by his hand grabbing her leg and then she had to block a fist. After that, they engaged in taijutsu battle for several minutes, each doing back flips and side flips, blocking and evading each other's assaults. But the battle ended when Itachi took the upper hand with his superior speed and was able to take her down to the ground completely, pinning her with his own body weight.

They were both panting though the female was kind of gasping for air as she had his weight on him. Their chests were pressed against each other's and they could both feel the heat radiating from their bodies. But it didn't affected the purple eyed as it affected Itachi.

He suddenly felt more self conscious of how her body felt underneath his; how her chest rose up and down when she inhaled and exhaled against his own broad one, how her breath trickled his face and of how intimate the position they were in was. But what he didn't know was that she was also very aware of how close they were and her cheeks blushed a deep red but she didn't say anything, waiting for him to do so first. His eyes moved up from her lips to her purple eyes and they connected, not letting go of each other's gazes. It felt like maybe hours but it was just a minute of two until he finally pulled away from her body and stood up.

Neither of them looked at each other nor said a word for several seconds, wondering what had just happened. Itachi was the one to break the tense silence then.

"… I think that's enough for now. You have progressed enough. I'll go speak to the Hokage about arranging a date for your exams." He said and walked away from the field and the female just stared at his retreating form, still not registering what had happened to make them both so tense all of a sudden, though truth be told, she already knew what it was.

And she knew that the feeling that got over her once his broad and strong chest was crashed against hers, and when she felt his breath over her face and his lips so close to hers, had a name; attraction.

She started to feel attracted towards Itachi, her former lover's big brother.

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**_'Cause of you, my tries to not think of you, they just end up in one million thoughts, It's way too much to mention, see what I mean when you see my creation._**

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><p><strong>And that's all for now! Hope you liked it at least a bit ;P Please remember to leave a review saying what you think about the story for which I will be very grateful! So for now, until next time! See ya!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2: Loss

**Hello and Happy New Year, everyone! Here is chapter two so consider it my happy new year's gift :P Hope you all had an awesome christmas and new year nut now, on to the reading!**

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><p>Chapter Two: Loss<p>

"_Because it's been said before a thousand times,_

_And you are tired of hearing it,_

_But it's as true as it comes;_

_You never know what you have,_

_Until you lose it."_

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**_I hope you're not intending to be so condescending, it's as much as I can take. You're so independent, you just refuse to bend so I keep bending 'til I break._**

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She was working in the hospital in the night shift and she got out at two in the morning; that was all she was pretty aware of, at least. The brunette was working as if on autopilot, not being able of taking off of her mind the things that happened during the morning, or more specifically, the feel of Itachi's pretty well shaped body on hers. It made her a little tingly on the inside and she couldn't stop thinking about that feeling.

"Ari-chan?" She heard a voice call out her name and it effectively snapped her out of her thoughts for a moment and brought her back to reality.

"Shiro, sorry, I was spaced out." She excused herself and the light browned haired male in front of her smirked.

"I can see that. Is something going on?" He asked, his hazel eyes carried a little concern and the purple eyed shook her head.

"No, don't worry, it's nothing. Just been spacing out lately, you know that happens to people sometimes." She smiled weakly and he raised an eyebrow.

"Right… anyway, you're wanted in room six." He said, reading from the board on his hand and she nodded, walking towards the room. She didn't noticed how Shiro's hazel eyes stayed on her form and when he let out a small sigh before turning around and continuing his duties.

Ari opened the door to room six and was amazed to find none other than Kakashi Hatake sitting in the bed.

"Kakashi, what are you doing here?" She asked and his eyes wrinkled as he smiled underneath the mask and rubbed his head with his arm. The laugh he let out was weak, like when you've been caught at something. The purple eyed raised an eyebrow at him.

"I guess the one you really want to see is another nurse, right?" She smirked and was able to see a slight blush on the Jonin's cheeks.

"Well, yes but no." He said and the brunette raised another eyebrow at him, walking closer to him and leaning against a nearby wall.

"Okay?" She asked and he sighed.

"I need some advice… romantic advice. And I think that only you can give it to me since you and _her_ are pretty good friends." He said with a low voice.

"Advice? You need advice? But you're Kakashi." Now that was weird, Kakashi didn't really need advice on anything and much less romantic one.

"Yeah well, I'm good at getting my way when it comes to one night stands but… this is not the case right now." He lowered his head, hiding his blush. There was a small silence before Ari talked.

"So you need advice on dating Kaori." She said in a matter of fact way and he nodded, making her giggle.

"Well let's see… Kaori is a very good girl and you don't really need much to amaze her. The most important thing is to be yourself always, be true to her and don't hide anything. She appreciates that more than anything but of course; you can always bring her flowers, nothing extravagant but simple daisies to let her know you're interested. Visit her at the hospital and ask her for lunch at lunch break. Make her laugh and smile and laugh along with her and after that, you can start taking her out on more formal stuff like dinner at a nice restaurant or for walks in the night, show her pretty places and stuff like that." She smiled sweetly at him and he nodded, recording all that she had said in his mind.

"What if she doesn't really like me?" He asked hesitantly and Ari chuckled.

"Oh, she will like you alright, don't worry. In fact…" She leaned in a little closer to him and giggled.

"In a conversation I had with her, it slipped out that she already likes you." The brunette winked at him after saying that and Kakashi's cheeks blushed again and it made her laugh. After talking a little bit more about what things he could do, the silver haired Jonin gave his thanks to the purple eyed and left her to do her work. It was eleven by then, still three more hours to go.

In the Uchiha compound, a certain Itachi Uchiha was laying on the wooden roof with dozens of thoughts running through his head. Not even the beauty of the stars could take him away from another beauty; Ari's beauty.

He wanted to feel her warmth again, to feel her body so close to his like she was this morning underneath him. Her lips so close to his own, all he had to do was lean in less than an inch down and he would seal his mouth over hers. One year had passed and he still remembered very well the feel of her lips on his, how much he wanted to repeat that moment over and over now.

One who really didn't know him would think he's a perverted man that got obsessed over a pretty woman but he was nothing like that. Itachi had never before been interested romantically in any woman, though he has had a relationship with a former clan member when he was thirteen and that girl had died by his hand, but it was nothing like what he felt for the brunette. What disturbed him or maybe, motivated him more was that he knew that she felt the same. This morning, she had responded to his proximity, her body had slightly trembled underneath his and he had seen a blush on her cheeks and in that moment, he knew that she at least felt attracted to him.

He sighed lightly and closed his eyes. He wondered how she will act towards him now? Because if she feels attraction for him, something is bound to change in her attitude towards the ebony haired; she will probably feel more self conscious and be more careful around him, more observant. He knew that he was also going to be the same but he also hoped that she didn't changed too much, he was worried actually because a part of him said that Ari is not an easy woman to deal with. He remembered a conversation he had with his mother a long time ago, about how some women acted towards the men they liked.

"_Some girls like to be very close to those boys they like but, there are other more complicated girls who prefer to be far away." Her onyx eyes looked down at his son who tilted his head to the side._

"_Why is that, okaa-san?" He asked and she sighed._

"_Well, some girls get afraid of what they feel, they get scared of what might happen if they let their feelings be shown off. Or maybe there can be other reasons like for example, the boy she likes may be her best friend's crush or maybe even her best friend. She might be scared that if she showed her feelings, that friendship will break down and therefore, they prefer to hide those feelings to keep that friendship, which is a shame because maybe the other boy feels the same for her and is also scared for the same thing." She nodded more to herself and the eight year old Itachi had frowned._

By that time, he didn't really understood what his mother had explained at all but now, he knows she was right and he really hoped that Ari wouldn't be that case but at the same time, he was almost sure of that.

It was silent as she walked down the streets of Konoha after ending her shift at the hospital. She was pretty tired and really just wanted to lay in her bed and sleep soundly but she also was nervous because going to her bed would mean that she would have to go to the Uchiha compound which meant, that she would have to face Itachi, the one to whom she has just discovered that she has a pretty strong attraction. The purple eyed knew very well that the Uchiha wasn't dumb and that he had noticed how her body had responded to his and knew that it would be somewhat awkward and tense between them and she was pretty nervous for that.

Sighing, she stepped into the district and knew that Itachi would've sensed her by then so she headed to the house directly and the door was already opened. The Uchiha heir was definitely awake and waiting for her sitting in the living room. He looked up to her once she entered the house and they kept on looking at each other for several seconds until Ari decided to speak first.

"Hey." She said and walked out of the way as fast as she could to the stairs and up to her bedroom. Itachi sighed and looked down at the floor after she disappeared up the stairs. He knew she would act this way, trying to evade him, and so he decided to let her be for tonight because she has to be tired and he wouldn't want to bother her.

Ari closed the door behind her and remained pressed against it for a few minutes, wondering if she had acted the right way. Deciding to place those thoughts aside, she took off her clothes, took a quick bath and then put on a long shirt to lay down and catch some good needed sleep.

_Next Day May 23_

"Ari-chan!" She turned around as she heard a familiar voice calling out to her and she smiled immediately when she saw it was Kaori, her brown haired and honey eyed friend.

"Kaori-chan, how are you?" The purple eyed asked her and the short haired female grinned brightly.

"I'm amazing! You know what happened? Someone brought me flowers!" She squeaked and the brunette chuckled.

"Who?" She asked and Kaori jumped.

"Kakashi! Can you believe it? It means he's interested in me!" She jumped again and hugged the half Uchiha female who widened her eyes in amusement. After several seconds, they parted and Kaori stood straight in front of her.

"Alright, back to work. See you later, Ari-chan!" She waved goodbye and the brunette returned to her routine check of her patients.

This morning, she had woken up early and left, not even eating breakfast, trying everything to evade Itachi as best as she could. Of course, she knew that he was simply letting her get away with it because he could confront her at any moment he wished. Maybe he was also worried and nervous of what had happened which meant that he did feel her different. Once again, she was spacing out and doing her job in auto pilot until, once again, a familiar voice made her snap out of her thoughts.

"Ari-chan? You alright? I've been calling you for a few times now." Shiro's sweet and worried voice said and the purple eyed looked back at him.

"Oh, Shiro, didn't saw you there." She smiled weakly and he raised an eyebrow. Then her stomach grumbled but luckily, not loud enough for the hazel eyed male to listen.

"Hey, is it lunch break?" She asked and he nodded.

"Yeah, in five minutes. But I thought you didn't work today." He said and she bit her lip.

"No I didn't but I had nothing else to do so I came here." She giggled nervously and an awkward silence followed until Ari broke it.

"You want to go have lunch together?" She asked out of nowhere and took Shiro by surprise.

"Um, well, don't you always go out with Sakura?" He asked and she nodded.

"Yeah but Sakura isn't on shift right now so I'm asking you."

"But when Sakura isn't here, you just go out with the Uchiha…" She stiffened slightly at the mention of him. But she also noticed the hinting tone Shiro had when he said the sentence.

"Yes but I don't want to. But anyway, if you don't want to come with me then I'll go alone, it's alright." She smiled and started to turn around but was stopped when the brown haired man pulled her arm.

"It's not that, I'd love to have lunch with you actually but…" He hesitated before speaking again.

"Won't he get jealous or something? If you eat with me instead of him?" Her eyes widened at what he said and then they narrowed.

"Why do you say that? Why should he get jealous?" She asked back and he shrugged his shoulders.

"Because he is your boyfriend, right? I mean, you two live together and he comes to pick you up when he comes from a mission—"

He had been walking peacefully down the street of Konoha, getting the normal gasped and gawking from the female population and as always, he ignored them. Then, he had reached the hospital and asked where Ari Uchiha was to one of the nurses who pointed towards an aisle and he had heard her talking to someone in hushed tones until suddenly:

"No! No, he's not! I am nothing of Uchiha Itachi!" She gasped too loud and the nearby people walking by glanced at her direction but she really didn't care because she was mad and poor Shiro was the one closest to her and therefore, would take her angry moment.

"Who the Hell said that?" She fisted her hands to her sides, trying to control herself as best as she could.

"Well, everyone around in the hospital and probably outside as well…" He whispered and gulped as her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Then everyone in the hospital and outside it, is very mistaken. And I can prove it because starting tomorrow, I'm not living in the same house as Itachi Uchiha." She crossed her arms over her chest and huffed, almost like a little girl and Shiro's eyes widened.

"Um, okay… are we going to eat then, or what?" He asked and she sighed.

"Yeah, let's go…" And they both walked out of the hospital to find a place to eat some lunch.

Itachi had already left by the time this Shiro had asked her if they were going to lunch or not with a heavy feeling inside his very chest. He knew that she would act this way but none the less, it hard hurt him more than he thought when she said she had nothing to do with him and even more when she said she was going to move out…

Alright, he wasn't hurt, he was frustrated. He didn't expected her to be so drastic in her decisions but he did notice that she said that because that Shiro told her that everyone thought they were together because they lived together so, just to prove them wrong, she's going to move out. What bothered him was that he saw that little glint of joy in the hazel eyes of the male talking to her and by the way he was eyeing her, it appeared like he has a crush or something on Ari and that, made him narrow his eyes dangerously. But he would not fight with her, in fact, he was going to start moving her things if she wanted so much to move out.

It was sunset when she arrived to the Uchiha Compound and tomorrow she had the day off since she worked today so she had time to move but there was another, bigger problem: Telling Itachi.

Before telling him however, Ari walked towards the tomb of Sasuke and sat down in front of the tablet that said his name.

"Hi, Sasuke… Something has happened and I don't know what to do. I don't know if what I am going to do is the right thing…" She looked down to the floor and kept speaking.

"People are thinking that me and Itachi are… together. That is wrong you know because, he is your brother and what would they think if they saw me holding hands with him after a year that his little brother died? With who was your girlfriend while you were here…" There was silence and not even the wind was moving. After several seconds, she stood up and waved goodbye towards the tomb, turning around and heading to the main house where surely Itachi was waiting.

She was surprised to see that he wasn't waiting for her, in fact, he was nowhere to be found in the living room. Her eyes closed as she sensed for him and found he was in his room so deciding to eat before talking to him, she headed to the kitchen and looked for some food and was surprised to find none which meant he still hadn't prepared dinner, which was strange of him. Now she decided to ignore the hunger and face him, walking up the stairs to his room directly, knocking on the door.

"Itachi?" She called and there was no answer so she knocked again louder this time and frowned when there was still no answer but she knew he was in there. Sighing, she pushed open the door and opened it since it wasn't completely shut and found him laying on his bed, reading a book in his hand. She bit her lip as she noticed he didn't even look up at her form.

"Itachi?" Her eyes searched his own until he finally met her gaze as he looked up from the book. He raised an eyebrow, letting her know he was listening.

"Um, I wanted to talk to you about something." The brunette started as she walked closer to the bed where he was. The Uchiha heir nodded his head once and placed the book aside.

"There have been rumors going around that you and I are…together. And we are not so I want people to know that we are not together so I'm going to move out." She finally said and Itachi's lips thinned and he nodded.

"I know. I already moved your things to the best reconstructed house of the compound." He said and Ari's eyes widened at what he said.

"Y-You knew? How?" He stood up and headed to his closet.

"I went to pick you up for lunch and I happened to stumble upon you and a man whom I suppose is named Shiro."

"Oh, yeah—"

"And as you may guess by now, I listened to the way you enthusiastically denied any kind of involvement with me. So I took the liberty of moving some of your largest possessions." He took a shirt and was now looking for a pair of pants as he finished talking to her. Ari looked down at the floor and had no idea on what to say but call his name when she saw he was headed to the bathroom and was closing the door.

"I-Itachi! Wait!" She called out and he stopped half way on closing the door and opened it up a little more to see her and waited for her to say anything.

"I…I just don't know if it's right… I mean, you're Sasuke's brother…" She lowered her head as tears build up in her purple orbs and the Uchiha noticed, closing his eyes slowly before moving out of the door and in front of her. The brunette looked up to him when she saw him standing so close and that warmth spread through her whole body once she met his deep onyx gaze and they stayed like that for several seconds until Itachi spoke softly and low.

"Maybe we both need this to think better on things. But know this, Ari; My brother is dead, he has been dead for a year and if you knew him as well as I did, you'll know what he would've wanted for you. Do not let his memory cloud your feelings and desires because that is something he would have never intended to do." He turned around and went to the bathroom, closing the door behind him and leaving her there, thinking on the words he had just said.

_Three Days Later May 26_

She had officially moved out three days ago and she already felt terrible. The words Itachi had told her before she left were still spinning around in her head and she hated that feeling and she hasn't spoke to him since because the day after he left on a mission and left a letter to her saying that she was due to take the written exams to become a kunoichi in three days. Three days had already passed and she was standing in front of the Hokage's office, waiting to be told to enter.

What had he meant by his words? She knew he was hinting at something but what? She couldn't quite put her finger on it and it frustrated her to no end but she couldn't think about it now because she heard Tsunade's voice calling for her to enter and so she took a deep breath and opened the door. The blonde Hokage looked up at her and smiled.

"Ari, welcome. Are you ready to take those written tests?" She asked and Ari nodded.

"Yes, I am." She said with more confidence than she felt and the honey eyed female before her nodded and called out a name.

"Yamato, you're up" And once she called, there was a poof of smoke and a brown haired man with black eyes appeared in the center of it.

"Lady Tsunade." He bowed and the Hokage nodded, motioning to Ari.

"Yamato, this is Ari Uchiha, you are to evaluate her in the written exams for becoming a kunoichi." She said and the brown haired nodded and bowed slightly towards the brunette.

"It's a pleasure, Uchiha-san. If you may follow me, we can start the exams right away." He said and the purple eyed nodded, following the black eyed, strange looking man. A few minutes later, they were inside a small room where two tables were in the middle of it, each one with a single chair.

"Please sit and I'll give you the papers and a pencil." He explained and she did as told, sitting in the middle of one of the tables on the metal chair. Nerves started to get over her as the jounin presented her with the test sheets and a single pencil. Taking a deep breath, she started filling the blanks and answering questions. It took her two hours and a half to finish the whole thing and she did it as fast as she could, answering and thinking very well each question and problem before writing down the answer. Yamato took the papers and nodded.

"Now, I'll give the papers to the Hokage and she shall evaluate your answers. Please wait here and I'll come back with the results." He said and Ari nodded stiffly, watching as he retreated from the room. Immediately, her thoughts drifted to a certain dark haired and onyx eyed male and she wondered if he was also thinking about her as much as she was thinking about him. Sighing, she leaned back against the chair and closed her eyes, trying to think about something else.

So she started to think about passing both the written and sparring exams. Honestly, she was more worried about failing the written ones rather than the fighting ones because the fighting ones were practically for placing her in a rank. She wondered what rank she would end up in, knowing that she was pretty much beyond Genin. Itachi had explained what each rank meant and how she was going to be evaluated.

If she were a normal kunoichi that was born and raised in the life of shinobi since she was born, she would've definitely be a Jonin by now but she was not going to be evaluated for experience but for skills. He said he didn't wanted to tell her what he thought she would make but Sakura and Naruto said that she surely above Chunin, still, she didn't wanted to go ahead and make any false hopes.

Several minutes later, Yamato finally came through the door with a smile on his face but he honestly looked a bit freaky.

"Lady Tsunade asked for you to come and hear the results from her." He announced and she nodded, standing up and following him towards the Hokage's office. When they reached it, Tsunade told Ari to sit down.

"Alright Ari, I've checked the answers of the test and…" She smirked a little before continuing, which made the brunette even more nervous than she already was.

"You passed with flying colors!" The blonde woman raised her hands over her desk in a sort of surprise motion and Ari's eyes widened instantly.

"So, I passed? I'm a kunoichi?" She asked and Tsunade nodded, making Ari's smile widen brightly.

"And that's not all, I also threw in the field medic-nin questions and you answered them correctly as well which means that depending on the rank you fall under, if it's higher than Genin, you will also be an official field medic." The purple eyed gasped in surprise and grinned even more as she laughed in happiness.

"Now let's talk about the practical exams. I arranged everything already and your opponents have also been chosen. You will face a Chunin, a Jonin and if you survive those two, we'll see how you hold on against an ANBU. So I do suggest you rest well because the matches are tomorrow." She said and the brunette's eyes widened.

"Tomorrow?"

"That's right. The elders Koharu and Homura along with myself will be the judges. You are to report here at the office at eight o'clock sharp in the morning and then we'll head out to the area we've prepared for your exam." The Hokage explained and Ari nodded, standing up.

"Thank you so much for this opportunity, Lady Tsunade." The purple eyed bowed slightly and Tsunade shook her head.

"It's not an opportunity, it's a right you have as daughter of two shinobis. Now, get some good rest and I'll see you tomorrow. And congratulations at for you written exams." She smiled and Ari whispered a small "Thank you" before exiting the office and heading to her new small house in the Uchiha district.

May 27

The next day, the purple eyed was standing in the Hokage's office at the time she was told to be there and just like the day before, she was pretty nervous. The blonde woman smiled at her, as if seeing her nervousness and stood up, telling her to follow behind which she did biting her lip. They entered a huge stadium that Ari has seen before but never been inside and it made her even more nervous. By the front seats, two elderly people were seated and watched as she and the Hokage entered, who told her to stand in the middle of the arena as she joined the other two judges. Nodding she did so and looked up front, waiting for any kind of instruction.

"Alright Ari, there are Koharu" she motioned her hand towards the old woman who nodded with a serious look on her face and the brunette nodded back, "and Homura." The man nodded towards her as well and she nodded in return.

"As I explained yesterday, you will fight a Chunin level shinobi until we decide it's enough and later, you will fight a Jonin until we see fit and if you prove to be able to stand up against an ANBU, then that will be your next opponent, understood?" Tsunade explained the proceedings and the purple eyed nodded.

"Yes, Lady Tsunade."

"Okay, then let's begin. The first opponent." As Tsunade said that, a teen age boy with dark orange hair and brown eyes entered the arena and bowed slightly to Ari before getting in a fighting stance. The brunette took a small breath as she saw him, mentally preparing herself.

This was her moment to prove how much she is worth of carrying the Uchiha name, the name of her mother who had sacrificed her life to save her that night she was born. This was the moment when she would show everyone what she's really made of and how capable she is with her special abilities, but most of all, this was the moment to prove to Itachi and herself how far she could go.

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**_But I always find a way to keep you right here waiting, I always find the words to say, to keep you right here waiting. _**

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><p><strong>And it's done! Hope you all liked it and I wish you all a happy new year! Remember to leave a review please, see ya!<strong>


	3. Chapter 3: Approval and Denial

**Hello! Yeah, I know, it's been a looot of time once again but I confess that I've been pretty lazy to write this story and since I have college and I've been writing other stories of my own, i don't have much time nor inspiration to write this one but I will continue do write, don't worry. I'll just be slower xD Anyway, here is the third chapter, hope you enjoy the fighting a bit :P **

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><p>Chapter Three: Approval and Denial<p>

"_Accepting who you are,_

_But denying what you feel,_

_Is the same as not being you,_

_Because you're not being real."_

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**_Search for the answers I knew all along, I lost myself, we all fall down. Never the wiser of what I've become, Alone I stand, a broken man._**

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"Begin!" Tsunade shouted at the fighters standing in the middle of the arena. Ari disappeared in a flash and the other shinobi was sent flying with a single punch of the brunette female but that didn't stopped her, once the Chunin landed, a fire jutsu was sent at the direction where the young shinobi lay and once he saw, the dark orange haired teen's eyes widened and he jumped out of the way as fast as he could to evade the attack. While jumping away, he threw shuriken at the purple eyed woman who easily evaded the projectiles.

Dashing towards the brown eyed, Ari disappeared once the orange haired thought she was going to attack him straight on and attacked him from behind with a strong kick. Channeling her chakra to her other leg, she kicked the ground next to the shinobi and it formed a pretty big crater that made the brown eyed unable of standing up and then the voice of Tsunade was heard, shouting for the fighting to stop. Obviously, Ari was beyond Chunnin level so the Hokage asked for the next opponent, a Jonin, to enter the arena.

The purple eyed gulped nervously but then breathed in to calm herself down, Itachi's words in her head when he said that one must be always be in control of one's self no matter the situation because that way, the thoughts will be more precise. So she did exactly that and just then, the blonde woman told for them to begin.

She didn't attacked first like with the Chunin, but she just observed her opponent and waited for his own move. The ninja with black hair and dark green eyes swiftly moved his hands to his pockets and threw shuriken at her direction with a pretty amazing speed but she was able to see and was ready to deflect them with her kunai in hand. As soon as he finished attacking, she prepared her own jutsu which was a Phoenix Fire Style Jutsu at the Jonin but he evaded it easily and performing a Water Dragon Jutsu back at her. The brunette's eyes widened when the water dragon formed and crashed down as a wave flowing directly at her.

Channeling chakra to her legs, she kicked the ground and giant rocks sprouted upward so with her hands fueled with chakra, she grabbed the rest of the earth and rocks and pulled them upward, forming a rock and earth barrier that she held up against the crashing water wave with her own body. The barrier held against the water jutsu and as soon as it was over, she grabbed one of the giant rocks with her right hand and threw it up to the air, punching it towards the black haired Jonin and then kicked the rest of the rocks piled up to him as well, and the Jonin had to evade as fast as he could the giant projectiles, like a new version of dodge ball. The earth grumbled underneath them as the female kicked and threw the rocks.

After the rock attack, the dark green eyed man dashed towards Ari who blocked a direct fist to her face with a single hand and kicked the man in his lower side of the waist but he managed to grab her kick and then grabbed her by her shirt to throw her against a nearby tree. Ari let out a small gasp as she almost collided against the trunk if she hadn't swiftly flipped in mid air to land with her feet over the trunk of the tree, taking it as impulse to jump towards her opponent with even more speed and as she was just about to clash against him, she disappeared, like how she did to the Chunin. Reappearing behind the Jonin, she thrust a glowing blue hand at the black haired and it connected, which was enough to paralyze his arm.

The dark green eyed gasped and he grabbed his arm with his other hand and looked at the purple eyed with wide eyes. Ari jumped and performed a jutsu of her own called "Fire Style: Fire Wall Surround" and a huge wall of fire formed as she breathed out fire and it surrounded the Jonin completely, burning the ground around him and enveloping him in a heated vortex and just then, Tsunade's voice shouted for her to stop so the female canceled the jutsu and the fire disappeared. There were small murmurs and whispers between the Hokage and the council members and the half Uchiha lowered her head a little as she panted lightly.

"Well Ari, this is your choice. You want to go up against the ANBU operative?" The blonde asked and Ari looked up to meet her honey eyes and after a few seconds of panting slowly, she nodded.

"Yes." And the Hokage nodded, snapping her fingers before a cloud of smoke appeared in the middle of the arena.

"Ari, do you know how to use a katana?" Tsunade asked and the brunette nodded.

"Good because you will need it." And then out of nowhere, another shinobi appeared and presented her with a medium length blade which she took and adapted her hands and arms to its weight. Slashing the air a few times, she nodded to the blonde Sanin, signaling that she was ready before looking back at her opponent. The brunette noticed the ANBU was a she because of her dark hair and so they both bowed slightly at each other as greeting before both standing into a fighting stance, waiting for the Hokage's command for them to start the fight.

As the blonde did so, both women disappeared and then clashed with their katanas in mid air, the sound of metal against metal clashing could be heard every time they swung their swords against one another. Their speed with the blades was parallel, making it seem like the swords were dancing with each other and the sounds they made when they connected like the music they were dancing to. The two kunoichi flipped sideways and backwards, evading slashes of the other's katana until the ANBU back flipped far enough so that Ari couldn't reach her.

The dark haired masked kunoichi performed very fast hand signs and the purple eyed was able to recognize some of them as part of a genjutsu so immediately, she activated her Sharingan to counter it. The ANBU member performed the genjutsu and it appeared as if she had trapped the brunette in an iron cage surrounded by fire but in the blink of an eye, the half Uchiha was gone and instead, the masked kunoichi was unable to move. Her eyes widened underneath the mask and she gasped as Ari appeared right in front of her with her bloodline limit spinning. She suddenly felt heavy and like she was being squashed by some invisible weight all over her. Her breath came out in gasps and then she was panting, trying to get oxygen inside her lungs but the air was so hot that she couldn't breathe and she started to sweat uncontrollably.

This was no ordinary genjutsu, this was the genjutsu of a Sharingan and she hasn't really dealt with a genjutsu this powerful. There's a difference between normal genjutsu and a genjutsu performed by a Sharingan and that is its power on the opponent. It's much easier to dispel a normal one than one cast by the all powerful kekkei genkai.

Suddenly, it was over. The brunette had dispelled the genjutsu herself and was now panting a little. She was running out of chakra and it was a good moment to strike with chakra attacks. The ANBU performed hand signs and casted a ninjutsu, making Ari's eyes widened and her mind race with thoughts of what she should do. The ninjutsu was an earth style that made the ground tremble and the brunette braced herself as the earth shook underneath her. Then huge cracks emerged from the ground and giant rocks floated out, immediately flying towards the purple eyed. The half Uchiha gathered chakra in her feet and jumped as high as she could, it almost appeared as she flew up high. The next seconds, when the rocks had all been back on the ground and the jutsu had ended, she was back on the dirt floor of the arena. Taking in a deep breath, she called on what was left of her chakra and started to do hand signs.

The ANBU watched amazed at how Ari was still able to perform a jutsu with the little chakra she had left but narrowed her eyes under the mask, wondering what she was planning.

"Wind Style: Hallow Vortex!" She said and then there were suddenly strong gusts of wind around both kunoichis but more around the masked woman. The dark hair of said kunoichi flew up around her neck, framing the porcelain mask she was wearing. And then, something she didn't expect and wasn't able of preventing happened; she was trapped in a much too powerful gusts of winds that surrounded her and lifted her completely in the air. Before she realized what was going on, she was in the center of a tornado in mid air, unable to move as the wind didn't allowed her. The purple eyed looked at the work her jutsu had done before making more hand signs for another jutsu and jumping into the air, closer to where the tornado was and said "Fire Style: Fire Wall Surround!"

As soon as she said the words of the jutsu, fire emerged from the purple eyed female and it merged itself with the giant vortex surrounding the masked ANBU kunoichi, transforming it into a blazing fire tornado. Ari kept on moving her hands, controlling the direction to where the fire moved; directly towards the tornado. Soon, shrieking sounds coming from the mouth of the female inside could be heard in the arena but just as soon as the sounds started, the brunette that was controlling the fire and the tornado collapsed down to her knees, unable to continue with the jutsu. The fire and wind techniques stopped and the masked dark haired ANBU fell back to the floor, panting for air as she looked at her attacker's direction.

She was almost completely out of chakra now and she was starting to feel lightheaded and weak, her knees unable to get her stand to stand up straight and when she tried, they bended out of their own accord. Ari fell to the floor and panted, gasping for oxygen.

"Alright, it's enough. You'll run out almost completely out of chakra and that is not something we are searching for here." She motioned to where the masked woman was and nodded at her direction, the mast of the dark haired moved as she also nodded and disappeared in poof of smoke, leaving Ari alone in the middle of the pretty damaged arena.

"Ari, rest. Now me and the judges will decide and think on our decision. Meanwhile, you may go and rest to replenish a little some of your strength. I will send someone to search for you when the decision is made."

"Thank you, Lady Tsunade." Ari whispered and forced herself to stand up and walk out of the arena and back to the compound, to her now home. She reached her bed and slumped down on it, almost forming a hole where her body was and fell asleep instantly.

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><p>Around four hours later, there was a small sound on the door but even in her deep sleep state, she was able to hear it and woke up, knowing it was the person Tsunade sent to call on her. Combing her hair a little and opening the door to find a masked man in front of it.<p>

"The Hokage has sent me for you." He said and the purple eyed nodded, walking out of the door as the ANBU disappeared. Taking in a deep breath, she walked until she was out of the compound and jumped up into a building and started dashing from roof top to roof top until she reached the Hokage Tower where Tsunade was waiting with an answer.

She was very nervous, anxious and very tired as well and just then, a certain someone's face came to her mind. The purple eyed closed her eyes for a few seconds and then opened them again, letting out a sigh. She missed him, she really missed him a lot and it was pretty hard to live in a house without him after being accustomed to his presence for over a year.

The brunette walked into the office and the Hokage was waiting for her. There was a small silence as she entered but then the blonde woman's face changed into a warm smile that somehow calmed Ari.

"Did you get some rest?" She asked and the purple eyed nodded.

"Yes, though I'm still tired but nothing a good night sleep cannot take away." The brunette smiled and Tsunade nodded back.

"Well then sit. We have things to discuss." The half Uchiha nodded and sat on one of the two chairs in front of the Hokage's desk.

"First, I want to say that Itachi is an amazing teacher because you did absolutely amazing out there." She smiled and Ari's eyes lit up with excitement and a slight tint of red reached her cheeks.

"Thank you." She whispered.

"So the elders and I were discussing the skills you showed in the arena and we all agreed that you can even make it into ANBU lever." Her purple eyes widened at those words, "but you are obviously not prepared for what it requires to be an ANBU operative because although you have the knowledge and skills, you do not have the experience. Because of this…" Tsunade shuffled some papers she had over her desk and gave one of them to Ari, continuing to speak as she did so.

"We have decided to officially grant you the rank of a Konoha Medic Jonin. Congratulations, Ari." The Hokage smiled brightly at the young female who read over the paper that officially declared her a Jonin ranked kunoichi.

Her purple eyes were shining from excitement and joy. She really did it, she really became a kunoichi in her home land after being gone for so long and living in another dimension that was nothing like this one. After training each and every day for hours, studying books of medicine, chakra and shinobi arts; everything paid off in the end and there was no greater satisfaction that that. Though there was one thing that she wished for and that was for Itachi to share this moment with her.

"You know, Uchiha should be arriving soon. I bet he'll be pretty glad that you passed all the way to Jonin." Tsunade said and Ari smiled and nodded, knowing that he would be glad for that but she didn't know if he would be happy with her because the last time she had seen him, although he tried to hide it, he was pretty upset. The brunette didn't liked that, she felt horrible and now she thought that maybe she had taken a somewhat drastic decision to move out but at the same time, she thinks it's for the best. Maybe things will be better now between them, there won't be so much tension in the air if they were both living at the same house but not together as in a relationship.

_Why not be in a relation with him?_ A little voice in the back of her head asked and her heart skipped a beat at that thought.

* * *

><p>She was now walking back to her house but on the way met Jack in the middle of the street. The purple eyed was so immersed in her thoughts that she almost didn't noticed him until the brown eyed called her name across the road.<p>

"Ari! It's been some time." He said as he walked closer to her and she nodded, snapping out of her reverie and smiling up to her.

"Yeah, it has. How have you been?" She asked him and he nodded smiling.

"All good, just got back from visiting Hinata." His cheeks tinted red a little and the brunette smiled lightly and her gaze moved to the floor.

"Hey, what's wrong?" The dark brown haired noticed and asked her but she shook her head.

"It's nothing." She said but Jack wouldn't let her like so he grabbed her arm lightly, making her look up to his eyes directly.

"C'mon, let's eat something and you can tell me there, alright?" He asked gently, care evident in his voice and she smiled back to him, nodding once and following him into a small restaurant. They sat down and almost immediately, a waiter came over and took their orders, leaving with them to prepare the food.

"So, what's going on? And don't say anything because I know that look of yours, like you're far away." Ari sighed and decided to speak her heart out as best as she could.

"…It's just that… I'm not sure about what I feel or what I want or what I should do or not. Things are changing with Itachi but I don't know if I should let them happen further on or stop right now… I mean… he's Sasuke's older brother and he died a year ago and all of a sudden I feel things that I don't know if I should be feeling for Itachi, of all people… I feel like—maybe I'm betraying Sasuke and I don't want that because I loved him with all my heart but now… I'm starting to like Itachi more than I should, Jack." She spoke out and the brown eyed widen his orbs slightly after her confession but got a serious look on his face as he thought over the words the purple eyed had just said to him.

"Ari… it's been a year since his death, and Itachi has always been there for you, no matter what and not just that, he's a great guy and we can all see he really cares for you a lot. It's only normal that you feel more than friendship for him. Heck! I think you've taken a lot of time to realize what you feel. And how can you be betraying Sasuke if he's no longer here? If he's not even alive to be betrayed by anyone?" He asked and she remained silent, lowering her gaze. Jack sighed and reached for her hand to take it in his own slowly.

"You're scared, aren't you?" The dark hair's words got right into her core because she knew that was it, deep inside, she knew she was scared. She was terrified, in fact and Jack was one of the people that knew her the most. Her eyes stung when he said that and she held on a breath. Jack noticed he had hit the spot and tightens the grip of his hand over hers.

"There's no need of being scared of loving someone again, Ari."

"I just—I don't want anything bad to happen again. I mean, what if I let myself fall for him and then it all turns out wrong? Anything can go wrong…! I don't want that, not again, not all over again… I don't think I'd be able to stand it…" She breathed out heavily but Jack interrupted her.

"Don't say you won't be able to stand it because you are the strongest girl I know. And nothing will turn out wrong."

"How do you know that?" There was a small silence after Ari asked him back but he answered, with a serious tone in his voice.

"Because I know, I mean, haven't you thought about it? About all the things that have happened over this last year?"

"What are you talking about?" She raised an eyebrow and his lips thinned, thinking on how to explain.

"You believe in destiny, right? That there's always something meant for everyone." Ari nodded and he continued talking.

"Well, me and the guys have talked about this before, you know, the possibility of you and Itachi getting together somehow. We think that maybe you two were somehow meant to be together. Just think about it, maybe Sasuke was simply meant to bring you to him and that's all—"

"And he had to die to get out of the way?" She asked and he sighed.

"… I think so."

"You think so? How can that be 'destiny'? To kill someone to get him out of the way?"

"It always happens, Ari, people have a purpose in the world and once that purpose is done, it's time to leave. You know that, even though it's cruel a lot of times but things always have a purpose. Besides, haven't you thought that maybe it was time for Itachi to live the life he deserves? After sacrificing so much for his home, his village and his little brother, he deserves a second chance to be happy and so do you."

"But I was happy—"

"Maybe not as happy as you would be with Itachi." He finished before she did and silenced the brunette.

"… And who better to be happy with than him? Than Itachi Uchiha?" He added whispering and her eyes widened, like something just clicked into place inside her mind.

It was somehow clear now, all that was happening. What if Jack was right? What if she had always been meant to be with Itachi and not Sasuke? It has been over a year now since the younger Uchiha brother's death and here she was, in her real home, just been ranked as a Jonin and she was with her friends and she had Itachi; she had always had Itachi and it hurt now that she didn't had him. She had grown so used to him, she had taken him for granted and forgot that he also has feelings and dreams and ambitions just like her and he's not afraid of attaining them, unlike her.

She was a coward, she was afraid of doing what her heart desired, afraid of what people might say or of what may be right or wrong. It's the right thing if that's what your heart wants, she knows that and her heart and her whole being wanted to give it a try. It was time to let go at last, completely, and to be true to herself and what she wanted and needed was Itachi Uchiha.

* * *

><p><em>Next Day May 28<em>

The sun had already set on Konoha and the noises of the people on the street walking around and socializing could be heard all over. But while some had fun, others had to work, as it always happens. This was the case for Sakura Haruno, the famous pink haired medic and the fifth's apprentice. She didn't mind to be working while everyone had some fun on a Friday night because she loved her job of helping and saving people and there was no bigger satisfaction than knowing that thanks to her, someone was able to keep breathing.

Right now, she was taking a small break and drinking some coffee to warm her up in the cold air of the hospital. Thankfully, the night wasn't too busy in the hospital, only some minor cases that could be taken care of easily and she was glad for that because she felt a little tired. A small sigh escaped her pink lips as she swallowed the hot liquid down her throat.

"Haruno-san! Sorry to interrupt but you are needed in room six! An ANBU squad has just arrived!" One of the nurses came and announced to the young kunoichi who's green eyes widened instantly, her drink forgotten on the small table beside her as she stood up hurriedly and ran to the room. A small gasp escaped her when she recognized one of the chakra signatures of the two strong ones inside the room she was running towards but what scared her was that there was a third chakra signature; and it was very weak, very dangerously weak.

The door burst open and the scene that welcomed her was one she had never really thought was able of happening. Two masked ANBU operatives were standing beside the hospital bed where the third masked member was laid over and she knew who that person was.

"What happened?" She asked as she stood beside the bed and placed her green glowing hands over the ANBU, examining his condition.

"We don't really know. He just received a minor shuriken cut and when the fight was over, his chakra started to deplete gradually. He examined himself and said it was some kind of poison so we came here as fast as we could but just when we were arriving to the gates, he collapsed." A very familiar voice behind a mask said and Sakura nodded as she listened. Using her chakra, she was able to find a foreign source inside and her emerald eyes widened when she recognized it as chakra.

"It's… chakra. It's some sort of chakra that depletes other chakra inside another person's body…"

"Can you stop it?" The same familiar voice asked and her lips thinned.

"I don't know… I've never really seen this before or even heard of it. I'll try to take it out as if I would with poison but I'm not sure if it will work." And so, she used her chakra to try to extract the chakra somehow but it was useless. It wasn't a liquid like the poison, it was chakra and she couldn't extract chakra with chakra. But she needed to do something fast because the ANBU's chakra kept on depleting and if it completely drained, he could die and that was something no one wanted. She watched around the room and saw that she was alone with the three ANBU so there was no need to hide names.

"Kakashi-sensei, bring Ari here. I think she would know what to do in this situation."

In a certain brunette's case, she was one of the people that was socializing in the streets and she wasn't alone because on her way, she had found Shiro and now they were both laughing and telling stories about each other in a busy shinobi bar, celebrating her new status as a Jonin.

"You know, I've decided to move on." She said to the brown haired man raised an eyebrow.

"Move on as in…?"

"You know, go on with my life completely. Like go out more with my friends, let myself fall in love, dedicate more time to myself. I want to live life at my fullest." She smiled and zipped on her drink, smiling up to the hazel eyed young man who smiled back and nodded.

"That's good then. Hope you have luck in that." He said and drank from his own drink and then suddenly, they were both interrupted by a masked shinobi.

"Ari, you're needed in the hospital right now. Very urgent." Her eyes widened as she recognized the owner of the voice as Kakashi and that recognition led to other thoughts. If Kakashi was here, then it meant his team had arrived and that meant that the captain of the team was here as well and that captain was Itachi so in other words, Itachi was back. But if Kakashi was here to take her to the hospital and not Itachi, then it meant that something bad had happened and that it was the captain who was in trouble if he didn't came for her himself.

"Let's go." She said and made the hand signs of a teleportation jutsu, appearing again in the hospital and there she sensed for Itachi's chakra and she froze when she almost couldn't feel his chakra. It was so low, very low and that was absolutely dangerous. The brunette sprinted towards the room and burst the door wide open, her eyes automatically focusing on Sakura and the masked man she was tending to over the hospital bed. Her purple eyes widened and she stood beside the cherry blossom.

"It's his chakra. It's depleting rather fast and I can't get out the foreign source that's causing the depletion." The green eyed woman told her friend and Ari pursed her lips together and her hands glowed green.

"Let me see him." She said and placed her hands over his chest and from there, it flowed down to the rest of his body. His chakra was so familiar to her by now and she enjoyed feeling it with hers but now, she almost couldn't feel it, only another type of foreign chakra that was somehow depleting his own. The only way of stopping that was to stop the chakra and force it out of the Uchiha's system which was a task that not even medic nins could do.

"Haruno-san, you are needed in room three." A voice outside said and Sakura sighed.

"I know you can handle this just fine, Ari. I have to leave now." She said and walked outside of the room, closing the door as she got out. The brunette was left inside with Kakashi and an almost unconscious Itachi who was breathing frantically. Genma, Kakashi had told her on the way to the room, that he went to the Hokage to report.

"Sakura said she needed to get the chakra out and that no medic could do that using chakra of their own." Kakashi said as he took off his mask. Ari closed her eyes and thought about what she could do. What Sakura had said was true, no medic could take out chakra using chakra, that only could be done if it was some liquid, like poison but chakra wasn't a liquid.

And then she realized that she was the only medic able of removing the invading chakra from Itachi's body, the only one who could save him. If she did it right.

.

.

.

**_Say something new, I have nothing left, I can't face the dark without you. There's nothing left to lose, The fight never ends. I can't face the dark without you._**

****_._

_._

_._

* * *

><p><strong>And it's done! I'm not really that good at writing fighting scenes and stuff like that but I tried my best :P The lyrics are from the song 'Without You' by Breaking Benjamin. Hope you enjoyed it and if you're kind enough, please leave a review? Until next time, see ya!<br>**


	4. Chapter 4: Denote

**OMG, hello everyone! It's been like forever but I finally found the time and inspiration to keep on writing Naruto xP I have been concentrating too much on my newest obsession (LOKI/TOM HIDDLESTON) but this weekend I was able of having the free time and the inspiration for Naruto. My Itachi feels returned, yes! Anyway, here is the newest chapter! Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Chapter Four: Denote<p>

"_To know, to feel,_

_Getting to know you again._

_To grow, to see,_

_Falling for you once again."_

_._

_._

_._

_**Don't taint this ground with the color of the past. Are the sounds in bloom with you? 'Cause you feel like an orchard of mines, just take one step at a time.**_

_**.**_

_**.**_

_**.**_

She had to do this though she has never done it before. It was possible in theory but doing it was another thing, she just hoped she did it right.

"I'm going to extract the chakra." The brunette said and the silver haired standing behind her tilted his head a little.

"I thought that wasn't possible." He said.

"No but I can do it. It's not a medical jutsu or anything, it's my ability." And Kakashi's eyes widened slightly as he realized what she was talking about. Ari had a very unique ability that let her control other chakra with her own, as if her chakra was somehow magnetic.

Taking in a deep breath, she placed her hands over the small shuriken cut in the lower left side of Itachi's ribs and she sensed for the malicious chakra. Once she found it, she started to pull on to that chakra using her own. She knew this wasn't going to be easy and she needed a decent amount of chakra to do it but she didn't care, even if she fell down with chakra exhaustion afterwards, she was going to save Itachi no matter what.

The foreign chakra inside the ANBU captain started to move towards the cut area and pushed its way up, out of Itachi's body and then a groan of pain came out from the Uchiha's lips underneath the mask but Ari kept on, none the less. It was normal for the process to hurt. Half an hour later, she was half way done and fifteen minutes later, she felt her chakra was starting to quiver but she kept on because there was still some of the malicious source inside the ebony hair's body, determination not letting her quit. Kakashi stood closer to the half Uchiha woman, sensing her chakra level starting to get too low but he knew better than to stop her.

"Just a little more…" She breathed out about another fifteen minutes later and doing a motion with her hands, raising them over Itachi's body and forming a strange dark yellow ball of chakra between her hands, she turned around to Kakashi.

"Do you have a sealing scroll?" She asked in a low voice, feeling much too tired and the Hatake nodded, taking one out from one of his bag's pockets, placing it open on the floor. The purple eyed crouched down a little and motioned for the chakra with her hands to go over the scroll.

"Seal it for me…" The brunette stood up tumbling a little and the silver haired nodded and performed the corresponding hand signs, sealing the poisonous chakra in the scroll. Ari looked over to Itachi who was now breathing normally as he slept and she leaned in closer to his body, laying her forehead over his chest. Reaching out for a chair next to the hospital bed of the sleeping Uchiha, she collapsed on it and instantly fell asleep over the heir's chest, listening to his steady heartbeat and a small smile played on her lips.

Kakashi watched the scene with a small smile of his own as he picked up the scroll and disappeared in a poof of smoke so he could take the chakra to the Hokage.

* * *

><p><em>Next Day<em>

There was a light coming from somewhere and that was what made him open his eyes. But immediately he closed them again as they burned a little. Then he felt he had his mask still on so he took off but kept his eyes closed. He took that chance to make his mind register what was going on and why he was wherever he was and then he remembered everything that happened.

They were on a mission to investigate some new rogue spotting close to the Leaf Forest and in the fight, he had gotten a small cut and some mysterious poison had spread through his body and depleted his chakra so he guessed that his team mates had brought him back to the village's hospital. He now recognized the smell of alcohol and other chemicals in the air that gave the hospitals that distinctive odor in the atmosphere.

After realizing where he was, he felt some small pressure on his chest and he opened his eyes slowly, adjusting his vision to the light and when it was all clear, he saw a brunette head with closed eyes and instantly, a small smile reached his lips as he saw her sleeping face over his chest.

He tried to feel for something wrong inside his own body but everything felt normal, except for the normal tiredness due to the chakra depletion. The brunette had really taken care of everything and she had probably fallen asleep in exhaustion, not that he minded having her like that. She looked so peaceful in her sleep, so beautiful, innocent and delicate and he just couldn't help himself when he reached out with his hand to remove a strand of soft brunette hair from her face. She was so asleep that she didn't even flinched in her slumber so he kept on rubbing small circles with his thumb over her cheek and slowly tracing her features; first her eyebrows, then her eyes, the bridge of her nose, her cheekbone and then he very slowly traced her full pink lips that were slightly opened as she breathed in.

What would he do without her in his life? Itachi cared for her much more than he can even understand and that somehow scared him. He has been taught since a very small age that having attachments and feelings in those attachments were always a weakness, but as he grew up, he was able to see that those feelings and attachments were actually a source of power and determination. In reality, he didn't had attachments to other people, not because he considered it a weakness, but because he didn't wanted those people to get hurt because of him.

He had always cared too much for others and that's his downfall.

But Ari, she was just something else, she was just someone so special in his life and he couldn't be without her so that's why while he was on the mission, he kept on thinking on what he was going to do with the purple eyed. He decided that he wasn't going to give up on her and he knew that she cared for him as well so if he insisted just a little more, she was going to give in to her feelings. His thoughts were interrupted when he felt the young woman stir in her sleep and slowly open her purple orbs.

She blinked a few times slowly and raised her head slightly to look up at him and he smiled down on her when their eyes met. Her cheeks turned a little red but she hid it with a small smile of her own. She stood up from where her head was over his chest and so did he, sitting up straight over the small hospital bed. They both stayed like that for several seconds, just smiling at each other and at the same time, wondering what the other was thinking.

Ari really didn't cared how Itachi was feeling towards her right now, but all she wanted was to jump and hug him. Feel him warm and alive between her arms and when she did so, the Uchiha heir froze momentarily. Did this mean she wasn't mad anymore? That she didn't mind what people said if they saw her hugging him? But then he dismissed those thoughts and simply hugged her back just as strong as she hugged him.

That amazing and wonderful warmth he felt whenever she was close to him took over his whole body and he felt at home. As he closed his onyx black eyes and silently sighed, holding the softly sobbing brunette in his arms, knowing that he would do anything for her well being and safety.

"I'm so happy you're alright, Itachi… I thought I would lose you, I got so scared…" Ari whispered between sobs and the ebony haired smiled.

"I would never abandon you, Ari. As long as you're with me, I'll always be with you." The words came out of his mouth before he could even think on what he was saying. That sentence sounded much like some kind of proposal and he wasn't surprised when the woman inched her head away from his chest to look up at him with wide shinning purple eyes. The onyx eyed man almost punched himself because now, things would probably get out of character again and that was something he didn't looked forward to.

"…Then good because I'll never abandon you either." The brunette smiled sweetly and this time, he was the one to widen his eyes at the words of the brunette. They stayed like that, starring at each other for several seconds until he cleared his throat and that seemed to make the purple eyed snap out of her thoughts and made her giggle nervously.

"Well, let me check on how you're coming along." She said and her hands started to glow green as the Uchiha heir nodded and sat up straight over the hospital bed. Her hands were now over his chest and his lower left side as she searched for anything out of the ordinary. There was nothing so her hands stopped glowing green and she smiled, looking up at him.

"Everything's going just fine. Your chakra is regenerating at the normal pace and by tonight or tomorrow morning, depending on how you rest, it should be back a hundred percent." The onyx eyed nodded.

"Where did Kakashi and Genma went to last night?" He asked with his serious voice on and she talked while writing down on the paper board in her hands.

"Genma went to report to Lady Tsunade and Kakashi… I think I passed out before he left." She shrugged and kept on writing. There was a small silence before she talked again.

"I'm supposed to be on my day off right now but Sakura called for me last night so I could check on you."

"What was it exactly that depleted my chakra?" He asked and she sat down beside him on the hospital bed.

"It was chakra. I've never heard of it being able of any depleting type like that one before. It's like some sort of poisonous chakra" Ari looked down on the floor as she talked and the Uchiha narrowed his eyes. Poisonous chakra. That made sense to him because it pretty much felt like poison.

"I know you want to talk to the Hokage but you have to wait until your chakra replenishes, and that's an order." She crossed her arms over her chest and Itachi raised an eyebrow at her attitude.

"Plus, I also need to rest and I want to go with you when you report to Tsunade." She added and the Uchiha shook his head.

"What happens on ANBU assignments is confidential." He said and Ari smirked.

"Confidential to non-shinobis or low ranked shinobis." The brunette let that sentence hang and there was a silence between them as Itachi tried to get the meaning of what she was saying. It didn't took him long because several seconds later, his onyx eyes widened.

"The tests." He finally said and the young woman bit her lip while giggling shyly.

"How did they went?" He asked and now the half Uchiha woman grinned.

"Well, I ended up going against an ANBU but by then, I had already run out of chakra but I was still able to kick ass." She got out her tongue when she finished explaining and Itachi raised an eyebrow.

"And what rank did you achieve?"

"Tsunade said that in terms of skill, I was pretty much ready for ANBU but I don't have the necessary experience so she placed me on Jonin rank." The brunette said proudly and Itachi also felt proud for what she had achieved on her own, though it wasn't a big surprise for him either. He knew how strong she really was and that she was much capable of becoming an ANBU but that was something he didn't wish for anyone to really enter.

Being an ANBU gave a shinobi prestige and reputation but it also scarred one's mind if one wasn't strong enough to overcome the stress and traumatizing experiences of the assignments that ANBU were sent to. He was one of those that was able of overcoming those visions and experiences but no one that has been sent on ANBU, has ever been able of forgetting anything they lived. The onyx eyed wouldn't want Ari to enter for fear of the experience changing who she was, that innocent, peaceful, cheerful, passionate woman he had fallen in love with.

"Then you can start going on missions now." He said and she smiled.

"Yes, but I was wondering since I'm also an official medic-nin as well, does that mean that I can go on with your team too?" The young brunette asked Itachi and he nodded.

"Since you are a Jonun medic, whenever we may need one, I can request for you." _But not now,_ he wanted to add but decided against it because that would lead to explanations he didn't wanted to talk about. Suddenly, he sensed someone getting closer to the room so he immediately grabbed his mask and placed it over his face, knotting it behind his head. Ari was about to ask but a knock was heard before she could talk and so she went to open the door finding Shiro on the other side.

"Hey, Ari. I asked one of the nurses and she told me you were in this room." He smiled and so did Ari.

"Yeah, there was an emergency and I was needed so here I am." She answered.

"I thought so since you didn't come back to the bar last night." Itachi, now with narrowed onyx eyes underneath the mask, listened to the conversation of both medics. So Ari was going out last night with Shiro? That made something in him boil but of course, he didn't show anything, just stayed there sitting on the hospital bed.

"Oh, well, talk to you later and hope you get better, ANBU-san." The brown haired man said to both Itachi and Ari who smiled(Ari) and nodded(Itachi). The brunette turned towards the ANBU captain after closing the door and the male took off his mask.

"I completely forgot about him last night." She whispered more to herself but the Uchiha heir smirked at the words. She forgot? Good.

"Anyway, I'll go bring food and you stay here, okay?" And without even waiting for his answer, she left the room.

* * *

><p><em>Next Day<em>

"I told you I was going." The purple eyed walking beside an onyx eyed said with her head up high. Itachi shook his head and rolled his eyes. They were both headed towards the Hokage Tower to talk to Tsunade about what had exactly happened when the Uchiha heir was attacked and poisoned with the strange chakra.

"Itachi, Ari, come in. I was waiting for you two." The honey eyed woman said to them as they entered the office. They both bowed their heads and then the blond woman talked again.

"Alright, Ari, explain what exactly did Itachi had." She ordered and the brunette woman nodded once before talking.

"When I arrived last night to the hospital, the patient Uchiha Itachi was showing the signs of being poisoned: fever, rapid breathing, increased heart rate and also the unconsciousness of chakra depletion. After further analyzing his system, it was clear that his chakra was being depleted rapidly and the cause of this was a foreign chakra source inside his body that got itself attached to the patient's chakra pathways. There is no known method for the removal of this chakra because it has never been known this even existed, but I decided to try my own method using the until now, unique ability I posses which is controlling any chakra source." There was a small pause as Itachi looked from where the Hokage was sitting back to Ari standing beside him.

"First, I introduced my own chakra into the patient's body and directed it to his pathways, surrounding the foreign source. Then, I started to use my special ability to control chakra and let's say 'pulled' it out of the pathways carefully, not to damage them. Afterwards, gathering all the foreign chakra, I used my controlling ability to pullout my own chakra, which was serving as a container for the unknown depleting source, so they both got completely out of the patient's body. This final step was painful for Uchiha Itachi and difficult for me because I had already used almost all of my chakra but still, I managed to remove them both and then Kakashi Hatake sealed the unknown chakra inside a scroll. After that, I cured the minor wounds the captain had and then I passed out for exhaustion." She finished the detailed explanation and Tsunade nodded, writing down what the purple eyed had said.

"I see. Kakashi brought the scroll with the sealed chakra, I was waiting for you to explain what happened so we can start with the analysis of the chakra." There was a small silence before Tsunade talked again.

"Now Itachi, what can you tell me about the attackers?" She asked the heir and he looked at the elder woman directly in her honey eyes.

"There was no sign of it or them before the attack. They attacked from the shadows and none of us saw anything other than the weapons flying towards us. It is very… frustrating, so to say, that we weren't able of feeling their presence long before."

"Which means they must be pretty skilled." Ari interrupted him but he went on.

"But as we were being attacked and after the assault was finished, there was a familiar atmosphere, one that I have felt before in the Akatsuki."

"So does that mean that the Akatsuki are responsible? We haven't heard of any activity from them since Madara's death." Tsunade asked.

"There is nothing confirmed but I do believe that the Akatsuki is no more. I was referring to the atmosphere one felt when in the presence of the Rinnegan." A small silence followed after the Uchiha spoke.

"So what does it mean? Is there someone else with the Rinnegan?" Ari asked and Itachi looked down on the floor before answering.

"Or there is a person who obtained it." He said. The Hokage pinched the bridge of her nose in thought.

"… This may mean that there is a new enemy on the horizon. We must be more on guard now but unfortunately, there's so little we can do with this information so we have no other option but to wait on the next attack. Though next time, we will be ready because we'll be on our guard. And it is crucial to attain more information on the next encounter." Both Uchihas nodded.

"Now Ari, I have a mission for you, your first assignment and since it's your first, you will be sent with a team and a team you are very familiar with." The honey eyed woman smiled and the brunette female's purple eyes widened.

"I already talked with Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi; the three of them were glad that your first mission is with them."

"But Kakashi has just gotten back." Ari said.

"Well, he said he wanted to be there for you first time." Tsunade added and Itachi was somehow relieved that the half Uchiha's first mission was with Hatake in the team. The purple eyed smiled and looked up at the ebony haired standing beside her, excitement clear in her eyes and he couldn't help but smile down at her. The Hokage watched the interaction between the two with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.

"Here are the details of the mission." She gave Ari the mission scroll.

"Read it, the mission is tomorrow at dawn so you better get some good night sleep. That's all for now, dismissed." The blond waved her hand at them and they both bowed their heads before turning around and leaving the office, closing the door.

"Finally, they used the door." She mumbled to herself.

Walking back across the streets of the village, Ari kept on asking questions to the heir about what things should she expect on her first mission tomorrow, what things should she do, how should she act and so on. The ebony haired smirked at her every time she asked, knowing it was simply the nerves. He was wondering what the mission was about but the brunette woman still hasn't read the details of it in the scroll, so he couldn't ask her yet.

"I'm hungry, let's go have some dango?" She asked and of course, he could never resist the sweet flavor of dango and he nodded his head, walking now towards the Dango shop.

"Why do you like dango so much?" The purple eyed asked him. The onyx eyed smiled.

"Since I was a child, I had a taste for sweets." He answered and Ari giggled.

"But if you kept on eating sweets since you were a kid, how come you didn't grow fat?" The brunette tilted her head.

"I wasn't really allowed to eat sweets, just healthy food like vegetable and white meat and the occasional red meat."

"Oh, I see." The Uchiha raised an eyebrow. The nervousness and the excitement got her all talkative, though he didn't really mind.

Itachi was glad that all the tension between them that was present before he left, now seemed to be gone. He knew that she would still be living in the other house but now that he thought better of it, it was better that way. Now, since he decided he wasn't going to give her up, living apart will help in the excitement and suspense of things between them.

Ari already felt attraction towards him and that was evident so if he kept on insisting more, sending her more subliminal words and signs, he would let her know about his intentions. Though the young woman was pretty perceptive so he knew she would catch on fast.

They both ate their dango and were now on their way back to the compound until they encountered the two brothers, Jack and Natas. Ari announced the news about her shinobi status and first mission making the brothers congratulate her. Jack and Natas said they were going to take their own exams soon and maybe they could form a squad after wards. The heir watched their excitement and it reminded him of little Sasuke when he had entered the Ninja Academy for the first time. After saying their goodbye, both Uchihas arrived at the compound, Itachi escorting her to her new house and inviting her to eat at night what she gladly accepted.

Now alone at her home, she opened and read what the scroll contained, reading it out loud.

"Team: Hatake Kakashi, Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Ari. Location: Fire Lord Palace. Client: Fire Lord. Mission: The client has requested a four man Jonin squad to serve as escorts for the protection of his family and self. The daimyo has received several threats of harm towards his family in the next annual celebration of the Fire Nation's birth at the Fire Palace. The team is to remain undercover at all times, it cannot be allowed for anyone to know the real identity and objective. Upon arrival, the Lord will offer any other specific information and instructions. In case enemy rogues are discovered, do not engage until they have revealed themselves of attacked first. The life of the daimyo's family is high priority." Ari took a breath and noticed there was a small envelope at the end of the scroll so she took it and opened the letter it contained, reading it out loud as well.

"Uchiha Ari: Your identity shall be that of a young lady of society named Sayuri Nakawa, accompanying a far relative of the Fire Lord by the name of Hiroshi Takeo (Kakashi Hatake) and his children, Hana (Sakura Haruno) and Hideo (Naruto Uzumaki). You must be dressed accordingly to the role of the identity addressed to you upon arrival at the location." The brunette pouted and raised an eyebrow. How was she going to dress? She didn't even know how ladies of society dressed because she's never been to one of those parties in this world. Probably she had to wear a kimono of some sorts but that was all. She needed help, maybe Sakura or Hinata could help her but she didn't even had a kimono of any sorts… _Itachi can help me buy one…_ She thought and so she decided to get out of the house again and head towards the heir's home to ask for his help.

Itachi had just gotten out of taking a bath when a knock was heard on the door. Placing a towel around his narrow hips, he got out of the bathroom and out of his own room, sensing for whoever was on the door and he slowed his pace when he sensed it was Ari. Maybe he should put on some pants or at least some underwear but then a smirk reached his lips as he decided against that thought. This was a chance he was going to take.

Opening the door, he had to resist the urge to chuckle out loud at the brunette's reaction. It looked like she was going to knock again exactly when he opened the door because her hand was up in the air in the form of a fist and her purple eyes had instantly widened. Her mouth was slightly opened as she plainly stared at his wet, toned, naked chest and then her gaze lowered downwards, at his hips and at the area covered by the towel and now he just couldn't help but smirk. The heir wondered what exactly was passing by Ari's mind in that moment.

_Oh my _God_, oh my God, don't stare, don't stare! He'll notice! Oh fuck, he's already noticed it, he's smirking! The cocky bastard…_ The brunette woman just stared at the figure in front of her, up and down and back up and down, over and over; millions of thoughts racing through her mind. How can such a perfect chest like that exist? She just couldn't help and watch as the pectorals on his chest rippled slightly as he moved his left arm and placed it over the edge of the wall next to him, smirking down even more at the purple eyed.

"Um…" She managed to let out at last and Itachi raised an eyebrow.

"Is something wrong, Ari?" She didn't know why but suddenly, his voice sounded a little husky and damn, it was much too sexy and then his body… _Oh, come on! He can't be for real, I mean, it's not like I haven't really seen him without a shirt on before but this is just different. He's practically naked, just a thin little towel covering his—and his chest and his shoulders and then his hair and those drops of water running down his perfectly toned—_She stopped right there, remembering Itachi had asked what was happening.

"I-I r-read the mission scroll a-and I need your help f-for something." She blurted out and a small chuckle escaped the Uchiha's lips and Ari's eyes narrowed slightly. Was he doing this on purpose? Of course it was on purpose! He should've known it was her since the first knock on the door and still he didn't managed to put on at least some pants on?

"And what is it that you need my help?" The arm resting on the edge of the wall went down as he arranged the towel on his hips better and the movement allowed for Ari to see that beautiful V shaped part of his lower abdomen and she gulped slowly, knowing that she was probably as red as a tomato right now.

"I have to buy some nice kimonos." She answered and Itachi tilted his head to the side a little.

"Come in, I'll go change." He said and the purple eyed nodded stiffly, entering the living room area and following his retreating naked back as he walked up the stairs to his room and change.

Fifteen minutes later, both Uchihas were standing in front of a lady's store. Itachi narrowed his eyes, not ever imagining himself doing so but here he was and he looked down at the woman standing next to him with the same dumbstruck face. He sighed and walked forward, opening the door of the store and motioning for Ari to enter with his hand. Inside, the brunette didn't know where to start looking. There were all kinds and colors of obis and kimonos, accessories for the hair, jewels to wear and wood shoes. Ari's eyes widened a little as she saw those.

"Itachi?" She pulled on his arm as she called out his name and he looked down on her.

"Do I have to wear those too?" The purple eyed asked and the ebony haired shook his head.

"Kunoichis don't use them; they use other more appropriate sandals." He said and Ari sighed in relief. After picking up the clothes and buying them, they headed back to the Compound and to her house. He decided to wait for her as she took and bath and got ready to go out and have dinner with him and meanwhile, he thought on where to take her. As she got out, he had to hold on a breath when he saw her.

Ari was wearing black heeled kunoichi sandals that appeared more like fashion high heels. Her long legs were uncovered because she was wearing a black skirt that was tight on her waist and flowed down to mid-thigh loosely with small flower designs. On her torso, she wore a dark gray strapless tight blouse with a delicate necklace on her neck and matching earrings. Her hair had slight waves and it was half up with a hair clip. The Uchiha also noticed from a distance that she was wearing some make up as well, that being the first time he ever saw her like that.

She walked down the stairs and stood next to Itachi and he was still at a loss of words as she did so, all he could do was stare down at her.

"Shall we go?" The brunette smirked up at him and took his arm, effectively snapping out of his thoughts and he nodded, walking out the door and into the village. The whole way, Ari didn't let go of his arm and it was something he could really get used to. The restaurant that he had in mind was not all that fancy but it wasn't cheap either, the kind he knew that the purple eyed preferred.

Once they got there, they were immediately seated, he being who he was had been given priority. They ate, drank some sake and had some dessert before leaving the place, Ari expressing how she had enjoyed the atmosphere and the food at the restaurant. The ebony haired male had enjoyed her company very much as well but he found himself sending small glares to other men as they walked down the streets of the village, though Ari appeared to be oblivious to how amazingly beautiful she looked tonight. Just to show that he wouldn't let any guy out there get any ideas, he slowly but surely placed his left hand on the small of her back and was glad that the brunette didn't even flinched, like the contact was somehow natural for her. As they kept on walking, his hand gradually moved to her hip bone and stayed there but he wasn't the only one to get closer because the woman also moved her body closer to the heir's form. They were both conscious that their close proximity looked much more intimate than just simple friends and neither of them minded.

"Where are we going, Itachi?" She asked and the onyx eyed smirked down at her.

"I know you will like it, specially at night." And they both kept on walking and walked to the outer borders of the village where small valleys could be seen everywhere, the light of the moon enhancing the shadows on them. When they walked further, a small lake was hidden between three low mountains, surrounded by flowers of all colors and kinds, the moon's light reflecting in the still waters of the lake.

"Oh my, Itachi… It looks amazing! The flowers are so pretty…!" Her purple eyes darker in the night were shining with the light of the moon above them, looked up at his onyx ones full of excitement. He knew she would like it so all he did was nod and smile, leading her to sit by the lake. Ari took off her heels, placed them beside her to her left on the ground and then brought her feet into the water, sighing in contempt. Itachi just sat at her other side with a bent leg on the floor and the other raised up with his arm resting over its knee. They stayed in silence for a few seconds until the brunette spoke.

"Thank you for bringing me to this place. It somehow relaxes me a little from tomorrow's mission, though I'm still pretty nervous." She giggled lightly.

"You will do just fine, just remember everything you have learned and it will all be well." He said, looking up at the moon.

"I just don't want to be a burden, you know…" She looked down at the lake and sighed before looking up at the moon along with Itachi. The male looked at her from the corner of his eye and smiled. She just looked so beautiful to him and he just had to turn his head towards her and whisper the words.

"You're so beautiful…" Ari's eyes widened slightly and her cheeks blushed, not knowing what to do so she simply said a small, "Thank you" and bit her bottom lip. The Uchiha raised his hand to her face and moved a strand of hair from her face behind her ear and leaned in closer.

"I'm just saying the truth…" He whispered and his face leaned in closer to hers as he placed the hand on her cheek at the crook of her neck. The woman took in a breath and closed her eyes slowly as she also moved her head closer until their lips met half way.

The kiss was a small soft one where their lips were gently placed over each other's for a few seconds until they parted and looked at each other's eyes.

"…Itachi… I think I really like you but—I just-" She was stopped by a slender finger placed over her lips and the owner of that finger laid his forehead against hers before speaking.

"I know, Ari but I can assure you, nothing will happen. If you place your trust on me, I will never do anything to break that trust. You mean so much to me…"

"I just don't know… you mean so much to me and it's somehow scary and—" She was cut off by the soft lips that pressed on hers and her purple eyes widened and then closed as she leaned into kiss.

"You are the most important woman in my life, Ari. I would never want it any other way."

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_**I'll say it to be proud, won't have my life turn upside down. Says the man with some, with some gold forged plan of life so incomplete, like weights strapped around my feet; Tread careful one step at a time.**_

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><p><strong>And so it's done! Romance is starting at last, at least for now.. ehehehe. Anyway, the lyrics are from the song Orchard of Mines by Globus. Amazing song. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and so sorry for such a long wait.. I'll try my best to make the next one faster :) Thanks for reading and please remember to review! If you review, I will definitely get more inspiration and the more inspiration, the faster I write ;D<strong>


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